Different
by PriPri1977
Summary: While mourning/celebrating the anniversary of his father's death, Isaac mistakenly makes a drunken wish to a faery and ends up reliving his childhood...literally.


**Different**

_I wanted to see something that's different_

_Something you said would change in me_

_Wanted to be anything different_

_Everything you would change in me_

**Never drunk-wish with fae!**

This note had just been added to the Hale Pack bestiary in bold letters and underlined at the start of the passage describing fae. The pack had just learned firsthand why this was a bad idea.

_Yesterday…_

It was the anniversary of his father's death and though it had been a few years, it was no easier to deal with today than it was the day he died. It was the man who died that he missed, but the man he used to be. So Isaac decided this was the year he was going to numb the pain. Armed with five bottles of Bacardi 151 Rum, Isaac headed into the preserve determined to get drunk and forget about his troubles for the first. This was mistake number one. It was a great idea in theory; in practice…not so much. The problem was Isaac lived in Beacon Hills, which was a magnet for supernatural beings.

He was only through his first bottle when Isaac was joined by a lovely young woman who introduced herself as Lilly. She was fae and in Beacon Hills for a gathering, which was a bust and she was now hoping to join him on his mission to get drunk. Lilly pronounced she could help him attain his goal of getting drunk if he would just listen to her vent for a while. Isaac, who was wallowing in self-pity and fairly vulnerable didn't think twice about agreeing. Mistake number two.

Lilly sprinkled what looked to Isaac like faery dust over the remaining unopened bottles of rum and the next thing he knew, his head was fuzzy, his motor functions were slower and clumsier, and he was pretty sure he couldn't feel his teeth. All the while Lilly was going on about a fae she had come to the gathering to meet. Apparently their relationship had been forbidden by their families and they used the gathering as a reason to be in the same place at the same time. They had promised each other to defy their families and runaway to get married. Alas, her lover arrived a day before her, found someone new that his family approved of, and broke things off with Lilly. She wished she could go back in time and listen to her family; maybe then she wouldn't have a hole the size of the moon where her heart used to be.

"That was a really shhh-shitty thing to do. He'sss not worth your time anyway." Isaac slurred.

Lilly smiled over at him. "I like you Isaac. You're a good listener." He only smiled in return and took another swig from the bottle clutched in his hand. "What about you? Are you happy? Is there anything you wish you could go back in time and change?"

"I…I love my pack. Derek and Sh-Shiles—Sstiless are awesome. Good parents." He said and looked at the bottle in his hands as thoughtfully as a drunken werewolf could. "Everything else I wish I could do over. Being born into the pack would have been better I th-think." He said and then downed the remainder of the bottle. Lilly just smiled. Mistake. Number. Three.

Derek jumped up, startled awake by what sounded like an infant crying. His sudden movement jostled Stiles awake. "What the hell!" he moaned sleepily.

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" he grumbled while trying to resettle himself amongst the pillows.

The cry sounded again. "_That_!"

Stiles popped up, "Was that a baby crying?"

"Yes, and it sounds like it's coming from inside the apartment." Derek answered while climbing out of bed and reaching for the pajama bottoms that were laid across the bench at the end of the bed. He pulled them on quickly and headed out of the bedroom to investigate while Stiles was still stumbling out of bed.

It was barely a minute later when Stiles heard, "Stiles get in here!"

At the sound of slight panic in Derek's voice, Stiles rushed to his side, still naked and carrying the pajamas he had snatched up on is way out of the bedroom. He found Derek standing over the coffee table. "What's wrong? Holy shit is that a baby?!"

Stiles' sudden exclamation set the baby off crying. Stiles flailed, but it was like parental instinct instantly kicked in and Derek reached down and scooped the baby out of the basket. He cradled the infant against his chest and began lightly bouncing, shushing the child. "Shh, it's okay." He soothed softly. "I've got you." Derek rocked and rubbed at the baby's back until the crying stopped.

Stiles stood there a lot awed and a little turned on because shirtless Derek holding a baby had just jumped into the top of his list of _Derek in All His Sexy Glory_. "Where did you learn to do that?"

Derek looked at him with his _are you serious right now_ eyebrows. "I grew up around babies. Now how about you ask a better question like where the hell the baby came from?"

Stiles shrugged then looked at the basket. There was a note attached to the outside. Stiles removed it, opened the paper and read, "To repay Isaac's kindness, I have granted his wish. He loves his pack but other things in his life were lacking. He gets a do-over. Take good care of him; he deserves to have the parents he chose instead of the parents life provided."

"You have got to be kidding me." Derek sighed as he moved the baby from his chest to cradle him in the crook of his arm. There staring up at him were Isaac's bright blue eyes.

_Present_

"…So you're telling me that a faery turned Isaac into an infant and expects you to raise him as your own child?" John Stilinski queried rubbing at his temples as if that would help stave off the headache that was already forming there.

"That's our best guess—"

"Stiles!" Derek groaned as he rushed into the kitchen with a squealing Isaac.

"Seriously Derek?!" he asked.

"I've tried everything; he won't settle."

"Did you try the alpha eyes?"

"No and I don't want to keep falling back on that. Please?"

With an exaggerated sigh Stiles held out his hands for the infant. Derek, with a relieved smile set the baby in Stiles' arms and watched as he was almost instantly soothed. He was unsure if it was because sight or smell, but since baby Isaac was still a werewolf, he had to guess it was Stiles' scent that was comforting the child.

The grin that broke out on Stiles' face as he held the child and cooed down at him nearly broke Derek. This was what he had been missing for years. True his life wasn't lacking since he and Stiles got together, but cubs… Derek desired a family and had since he lost his.

They got together the summer after sophomore year. Scott and Stiles came to the Hale house wanting to clear the air regarding the Gerard fiasco. It had hurt having Scott betray him, but Derek also knew he had made it easy for the boy to do what he did. He _had_ kept secrets from them. Derek knew that for things to change for the better, he had to be the one to start the change. So he apologized for keeping secrets and conveyed that he was willing to forgive Scott his betrayal and allow him to stay in the pack if Scott was willing and if they could both come to terms.

It took nearly a month for them to talk everything out, tell all of the secrets they had been hiding, and ease the hurt they had caused one another. But Scott willingly accepted Derek as his alpha with the promise that Derek would no longer keep secrets and at least give the pack an opportunity to offer up alternate solutions to problems the pack faced.

Once his relationship with Scott was stable and on the upswing, Derek addressed his issues with Stiles. He had been drawn to the boy's scent since the first time he encountered he and Scott in the preserve. The more time he spent in the spastic teen's presence, the more he was drawn to Stiles for himself and not just his intoxicating scent. It came to a head that summer; they were working closely together, searching for Erica and Boyd and looking for an answer to the question, "Why had the alpha pack come to Beacon Hills?"

Stiles always reeked of arousal, but it took Derek a few weeks of one-on-one interaction to realize that the smell of arousal only spiked when he was near. He had always assumed it was just Stiles being a horny teenager that didn't have an outlet for his over abundance of hormones. It was always there simmering in the background; mixing in with his natural scent of boy sweat, Adderall and honey. When he didn't know that Derek was there, it was usually like a low-grade hum, buzzing at the edge of Derek's senses, but once he was aware of Derek's presence the hum jumped up ten notches to a full-fledged song.

Derek finally realized it one evening as he sat watching Stiles work from his open window. The teen was bent over his laptop, eyes working over the screen intensely, his bottom lip caught between his teeth as he processed everything he was reading. Derek had told him that he would stop by that even if he could manage it, but that a visit was unlikely. So Stiles was completely relaxed as he wasn't expecting company.

Derek should be out searching for his betas, but he had the worst day and knew seeing Stiles would make all of the shit he was currently enduring fade into the background, if only for a little while. Remembering that Stiles severely disliked his creeper tendencies, Derek knocked on the window sill softly to alert him to his presence. He only started slightly and looked over to see Derek waiting outside the window. He thought he was mistaken when the boy looked to be fighting back a smile before he cleared his throat and invited him in. Stiles hadn't been expecting him; however, was glad him came because he thought he may have found something useful.

It was when Derek leaned over his shoulder to read the text on the screen that he noticed the increase in pheromones, the uptick of his heartbeat as he laid his hand on Stiles' shoulder. He tried telling himself the smell seemed stronger because he was practically on top of Stiles, but when he moved across the room to recline on Stiles' bed while he explained his findings, the intensity continued to increase. Before he left the Stilinski home, Derek finally understood that Stiles wasn't just a typical horny teenaged virgin; he was a horny teenaged virgin that was attracted to Derek.

It took him a week to decide what to do with the information. He knew Laura would force him to express his feelings and try to gain a little happiness. And as frightened as he was by the outcome of his last attempt at a relationship, Derek knew Stiles was nothing like Kate. So the next week he arranged to meet Stiles to do some late night research and blurted his feelings almost the moment he stepped through the window. Then he mentally kicked himself and tried again, calmly and sincerely. He explained the whole truth about Kate, something he hadn't even told Laura, how frightened he was about starting anything serious, and how he didn't want to take advantage of Stiles the way she had done him.

The evening ended with multiple orgasms, a lot of talking, and zero research.

The Sheriff found out about the supernatural world and his relationship with Stiles mid-way through their campaign against the alpha pack. Stiles had been injured by one of the twins, injured enough to require a three-day stay in the hospital. Needless to say, Derek and Scott _had_ to explain the existence of werewolves to the sheriff. Derek's unwillingness to leave Stiles' bedside explained the rest.

It took a long time before the Sheriff didn't cringe when he came home to find Derek there. But once they got over the hump, the two became close. John Stilinski began calling Derek "son" long before he and Stiles got married. That was over three years ago.

And now John was standing in the kitchen watching his sons care for a baby. Stiles was cooing over Isaac, having quieted him down, and Derek was leaning over Stiles' shoulder watching the baby react to Stiles. It looked right to him and the thought of them not having this once they were able to break the spell made him heartsick on their behalf.

There was no breaking the spell. Peter had gone through the preserve for hours until he found where the gathering had taken place. Only a handful of fae remained as the gathering had ended and everyone returned to their own territories. He was only able to get a little information from the remaining fae. No one knew who had cast the spell on Isaac, and they couldn't take away another fae's gift if there was no immediate danger caused by the gift. Whoever had done it was long gone and no one knew where to even being to look for her. Isaac would stay as he was until someone could find a way to undo the magic.

"…So we have a baby." Stiles said with a mix of panic and excitement in his tone. He was feeding Isaac a bottle of formula and watching from the doorway of the spare room as Derek reorganized it to accommodate the crib he had bought that afternoon. They couldn't let him sleep in the basket forever!

"We have a baby." Derek said sounding the same way Stiles had. "The pack is coming to dinner so we can bring everyone up to speed at once."

Isaac had dozed off mid-bottle. "I'm gonna put him down and then I can help you with that."

Derek and Stiles spent the better part of two hours rearranging the room and putting the crib together. As they dressed the mattress in baby animal themed sheets they talked about what would happen next. They came up with a cover story that they had been trying to adopt for a while and baby Isaac basically fell into their laps. Danny, the awesome hacker that he was, could create documentation for them, adoption papers and birth records. They would apply for a birth certificate and social security card and become the proud parents of a bouncing baby boy.

The pack would assist them in caring for Isaac as was the norm for werewolf packs. It's how it would be if Scott and Allison had a cub, or Boyd and Erica.

"It's something I want." Derek blurted as he tied the bumper to the bars of the crib. He tended to do that a lot around Stiles, blurt things. "I know we haven't discussed it but…"

"You want kids?" Stiles finished for him. Derek only nodded, afraid to look into Stiles eyes and see horror. "Cool, so we talking adoption or surrogacy?" Derek looked at him with disbelief. "What, you're the only one who can want kids?"

"No! I just…I didn't really think—I mean you're still in college and we've never discussed it—"

"I want a house full of kids with you Derek. I wish I could give them to you myself, but we'll have to settle for hiring a surrogate. I'd like our kids to share DNA with at least one of us, and let's face it, you hit the DNA jackpot." He joked looking his husband up and down with a playful leer.

Derek flushed. He still felt awkward when Stiles complimented his looks. He knew what he looked like, but it was different when Stiles called him pretty as opposed to forty-something housewives who offered him lemonade while wearing the most provocative outfits their closets had to offer. Landscaping, as it turned out, paid well but left him feeling dirty each day, and not from the grass and soil.

"I'd like for both of us to father our children. I think you're beautiful and perfect and I want to see our kids running around with endless amounts of energy and big, bright, honey-gold eyes."

"Sweet talker." Stiles grinned before leaning forward and capturing Derek's lips in a sweet, slow kiss. "Let's get through this thing with Isaac and then we can discuss our future children more."

"Sounds good." Derek grinned.

The pack gathered for dinner and they were as shocked as expected to learn that Isaac was stuck as an infant indefinitely. They all agreed to pitch in where needed. Danny promised to work on the records they needed ASAP, the Sheriff agreed to back their story if he needed to and was actually looking forward to grandpa duty. Having said that he took the baby from Stiles while he was pleasantly full and clean and lavished a ridiculous amount of attention in the burbling child.

When Scott got too close the baby wailed and didn't quiet until he was back in Stiles' arms. They quickly learned that even though the baby couldn't shift, he had werewolf traits and it became evident that Stiles' scent was the only one that pacified him. John and Derek's scents were mingled with Stiles' so Isaac was more comfortable with them than any other members of the pack.

Derek spent more time at home to care for Isaac when Stiles' classes resumed after spring break, leaving Boyd to take on the brunt of the work for Hale landscaping. The housewives were unhappy. It was nothing against Boyd who was built thicker and more solidly than Derek. He was handsome and his dark chocolate skin glistened deliciously in the sun; however, he never removed his shirt or put on a show quite the way Derek did. Derek had to assert his authority as his alpha, but he got Peter to soothe things over with the clients. If there was anything the cougars of Beacon Hills loved more than a sweaty, shirtless Derek Hale, it was a smiling, charming Peter Hale offering apologies for Derek's absence and a discounted price for one month. And once Derek was seen around town toting an infant, it was all they could do to encourage him to take his time returning; he was such a devoted father and husband to scale back his work to help care for his son. When Derek and Stiles were seen pushing the stroller together through the park, Hale Landscaping landed nearly a dozen knew clients that week.

On Thursdays Derek and Isaac brought Grandpa John lunch to the station. Most of the visit was spent with the deputies gushing over Isaac. "I still can't believe Stiles is a dad." Lenore, the station's secretary for the last thirty years sighed. "I remember the day you brought him to the station after he was born."

"God that seems like just yesterday." John mused.

"So Derek, are you planning to give little Isaac here a brother or sister?" Lenore inquired.

Derek laughed, "Eventually. First we need to get the hang of this guy." He cooed at Isaac before blowing raspberries on his belly and pulling laughter from the child.

Lenore just looked on knowingly, "Seems to me like you've got it down." She shrugged before going back to her work.

They watched her go and then, "She has a point. I hate to be the one to bring it up, but it's like Isaac Lahey never existed and Isaac Stilinski-Hale is getting closer and closer to his first birthday."

"What are you saying Dad?"

"Nothing. Just that…" he paused wanting to choose his words carefully, "I love my grandson, but I'd love a granddaughter just as much."

That evening Derek watched from the doorway as Stiles gave Isaac his bath, "I think we should start researching surrogates."

Stiles looked over his shoulder at his husband, "Yeah?"

Derek hesitated for a moment, looking at the sheer joy on Isaac's face as he squeezed his rubber duck and made it squeak and squirt water, "Yeah." He nodded, certain.

"Okay." Stiles agreed.

They were both there when Isaac took his first steps. Stiles was sitting in the recliner, laptop on his knees as he typed away feverishly, trying to get the last bit of his paper finished so he could have play-time with his favorite boys before bed. Derek and Isaac were across the room near the sofa playing with blocks. Isaac had tossed a block across the room, closer to Stiles and then decided he wanted it back. He levered himself up to his feet using the couch, "Stiles!" Derek hissed.

"One sec."

"Now Stiles!"

"Derek I—" Stiles looked up just as Isaac let go of his hold on the couch and took five wobbly, unassisted steps to where the block lay.

As was typical, his parents were more excited about his accomplishment than Isaac was; he just wanted his block. Derek and Stiles cheered him and both got on the floor to shower him with kisses, kiss one another and then proceeded to build the best block tower there ever was.

Stiles missed his first words. Well he didn't get to hear them in person, but when Derek heard Isaac calling, "Dada, Dada," from his bedroom, he grabbed his phone, turned on the video camera and recorded it.

Stiles got the seven second video after leaving class. He stopped dead in his tracks, mesmerized by what was happening on the screen. Stiles felt his eyes well up and was startled back to reality by a classmate asking if he was okay. "You look like you're about to burst into tears." She said, "Are you all right?"

Stiles brushed the tears away, "Yeah it's just…my kid said his first words and I wasn't there for it."

"Aw, I'm so sorry." She said sincerely.

"It's okay; I mean it is what it is. But at least I married a man who was thoughtful enough to record it and send it to me." He smiled.

"Oh my god let me see!"

She gushed over it as did their study group with whom she forced Stiles to share the video.

When he got home early that evening, Isaac was in his playpen clutching his stuffed wolf, when Stiles' scent hit him he lurched forward, and looked around until he caught sight of him. Once his did, he pulled himself to his feet and squealed, "Dada! Dada! Dada!" and held out his arms for Stiles.

Stiles beamed when he realized Isaac had been calling for _him_. "Dada's home."

In fairness, the first time he called for Derek, the alpha was in a neutral town meeting with a pack that wanted to settled close enough to Beacon Hills that it could be considered a threat. The pack was small due to a run-in with rogue hunters and the alpha was much older than Derek. She was weathered and too old to be engaging in hunter wars or territory disputes with rival packs. They just wanted someplace to live peacefully where she could continue educating her heir in the ways of an alpha. And if the possibility of an alliance was there, they would gladly accept whatever terms the Hale pack put forth.

Derek got the call midway through the meeting. The pack knew where he was and what he was doing so Derek knew it was important for Stiles to be calling him now. He excused himself from the table to take the call, "Stiles what's wrong?"

"Isaac's hurt." Stiles' voice was panicked and tearful.

"What?" Derek growled, he felt his eyes flash red and Boyd was at his side in moments.

"I went to get him a snack and left him in his playpen. He climbed over the side, but his leg must have gotten caught or something because he fell and broke his arm."

"Is he okay?" Derek exclaimed when he heard Isaac screaming in the background.

"I called Scott and he brought me to Deaton's. He wouldn't let me stay in there with him, he said me being upset was making it worse on Isaac. Derek I'm sorry I just—"

"Stiles I'm leaving now; I'll be there soon. Just…try to calm down. Deaton's right, your emotions dictate Isaac's. If you're scared he's scared."

"I'll try to be calm, but he's calling for his Papa."

"Tell him Papa is coming." He said before ending the call.

Derek returned to the table, "I'm so sorry, but I'm going to have to end the meeting now."

"Trouble at home?" the alpha asked.

"My cub injured himself and I—"

She held up her hands staving off any further explanation, "Say no more. I remember those days. Go care for your cub and comfort your mate, we can perhaps try again tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow it is." Derek nodded before heading toward the exit.

By the time Derek arrived at the clinic Deaton had set the bone and put a soft, temporary cast on Isaac's arm. He had enhanced healing, but it still took longer for an infant to heal than it would for an adolescent beta. By the following day Isaac would be right as rain, but right now he was squirming in Stiles' arms not responding to any of the soothing he was trying to offer. He was too busying screaming to notice Derek's arrival. "Derek!" Stiles said relieved when he saw his mate.

At the sound of his Papa's name Isaac turned in Stiles' arm, saw Derek and, "Papa! Papa!" he screamed, his voice hoarse from what must have been —

"He's been screaming for you for forty-five minutes." Stiles said as Derek approached.

Derek only plucked Isaac from his arms and pulled him in for a tight hug, minding his casted arm. Derek pressed a kiss to the top of his head, breathing him in deeply. "Papa's got you, Zac. Papa's here."

Isaac wrapped his good arm around Derek and cried into his neck. "He's in pain." Derek said before placing a hand on his hurt arm and leeching the pain away. After a few minutes his cries settled into sleepy hiccups and he was soon dozing in Derek's arms.

"I'm so sorry Derek I only left him for a minute."

Derek pulled Stiles against him. "Shh," he kissed his temple, "You couldn't have known he was going to climb out of the playpen; it's not your fault."

"I let our baby boy get hurt!"

"It could have just as easily happened while he was with me. _Now_ we know he can climb out of the playpen and we won't leave him alone in it. We'll have to lower the mattress on his crib to make it harder for him to climb out of there."

"Oh God I didn't even think of his crib!"

"That's why we're a team, Baby." Derek reminded and kissed his husband's forehead. "C'mon let's get the pup home, you can worry over him while I fix his crib…"

It wasn't until the following morning that Derek realized his son had called him Papa.

By the time they celebrated Isaac's first birthday, the whole of the pack had given up any hope, or desire to find the faery who had turned him into an infant. It was like the curse—gift—had worked on their memories over time. Everyone knew who Isaac was supposed to be, but they had a hard time remembering anything about who he had once been. Derek and Stiles had given up the thought of finding her after the second month. He was their baby boy and they couldn't make themselves feel bad about it.

Isaac was three when his sister Amelia was born. She was the product of an experiment utilizing both Derek and Stiles' sperm and a surrogate recommended by the Brennan pack, the pack that had requested permission to settle close to Beacon Hills several years back. No one was sure whose sperm had taken as Amelia had yet to develop her own distinct scent and she was too young to really look like anyone but herself. But she was beautiful and healthy and that's all anyone cared about.

"Wanna hold her! Wanna hold her!" Isaac yelled. He had recently learned the art of temper tantrums and was becoming quite adept at them.

"Zac what did Daddy say?" Derek asked his voice soft but firm.

Isaac had the decency to look somewhat cowed, "'Lia needs a nappy."

"That's right, your sister needs a nap, but when she wakes up you can hold her again." Stiles reassured.

"But —"

Derek cut off his protest with a low growl and a flash of red eyes. "Yes Papa Alpha, I be good." He pouted before going to play with his toys.

It was all Stiles could do to hold in the chuckle. Derek had always been hesitant to use his power as an alpha over their son, only doing it in the direst of situations (see: the week when Isaac wouldn't stay calm or sleep for longer than thirty-minute intervals.) He knew Derek felt guilty about doing it, but Isaac's reaction to it was always instant and submissive. It was amusing to see such a fearless and head-strong child intimidated. Isaac was definitely an alpha in the making.

"That kid is gonna be the death of me." Derek sighed softly, scrubbing his fingers through his hair.

"Really? You have a daughter who will quite possibly turn out to look like a female version of you and you think _Zac_ will push you to your demise?" Stiles teased.

"Oh good God what were we thinking having a daughter?!" Derek exclaimed once what Stiles said sunk in.

Stiles did laugh then. "Don't worry Papa Wolf, you have an entire pack, the whole of the Beacon Hills Sheriff's department, and a soon-to-be overprotective big brother to help you scare away all of Amelia's would-be suitors." Stiles reminded.

Derek rose from his seat at the table and walked around to lean over his husband. He looked down at his sleeping daughter and felt his heart swell. "I don't know what I'd do without you Stiles."

"You'd fail epically. As would I; which is why we're a team." Stiles reminded.

Derek pressed a kiss to stiles' mouth and then one to his daughter's forehead. "You two go nap; I'll occupy the alpha-in-training outside."

"Best husband ev-er!" Stiles sing-songed excited to get a much needed rest.

Derek smiled after them and then went in search of his son.

**The** **End**


End file.
